Francis Haney[2][3] (formerly Herb Haney[4][5]) is the former principal of Lakewood Elementary. He oversees everything happening in the school, whether it be school events, bad behavior from pupils, school renovations, etc. Besides being the principal, he is very active in the community of Elwood City and often takes part in managing or competing in public events, especially if they are sponsored by the school. He leaves Elwood City in Season 20 to fulfill his dream of building a school in Tanzania in Africa, being temporarily replaced by Ms. Tingley.[6]

In the first few seasons of the show, there was a running gag with Mr. Haney. He would randomly appear with a toy or a balloon, or would have bad luck for no apparent reason. He would get hit by things such as burgers on the face or get knocked off of his bed by the Tooth Fairy; most of this was because of his simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Everybody would respond by saying, "Sorry, sir." His luck has shown to be improved in later seasons, though.

He is also a tax customer of Jane Read, the mother of one of his pupils, Arthur Read; this was revealed in "Arthur's Mystery Envelope" when he gives Arthur an envelope filled with tax documents. Arthur initially thought that it contained information regarding him, but later found out it didn't, much to his relief.

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Physical appearance

Mr. Haney is a bear with light grey fur. He is often seen wearing a light blue jacket suit over a white shirt and a red and blue striped tie. He also wears dark blue pants with brown loafers and brown framed glasses. He is one of the few characters in the series depicted with fur, as opposed to a complexion like most of the characters that have human-like skin tones.

In the Arthur books, Mr. Haney is usually depicted wearing a green suit rather than a blue one. However, during Season 16 through 19 of Arthur, Mr. Haney started wearing a green suit on the show as well. In the few appearances he makes beginning with Season 20, he is back in his blue suit.

Personality

Mr. Haney is a kind character who cares deeply about the well-being of his students, but will deal a stern stance if they do anything to disrupt the day for their class or their teachers. He also can be a bit clueless, having been talked out of giving a punishment by students like Binky Barnes,[7] though this happens only on rare occasions. He tends to be rather clumsy and becomes distracted or confused easily, requiring the assistance of Ms. Tingley.[8][9][10] He has dyslexia.[11]

In the early season of Arthur, certain items are shown that look like him. In "Arthur's Birthday" we see a piñata that looks like Mr. Haney. In "Arthur Bounces Back", when he presses a button on a toy robot, it changes into Mr. Haney.

According to weta-learning media, Marc Brown tells the viewers at home that Arthur's principal, Mr. Haney was his principal at Lakewood Elementary. That's who he is based on.[citation needed]

After Mr. Haney's voice actor passed away in 2014, Mr. Haney was effectively written out of the show by having his character travel to Africa in Season 20, with Ms. Tingley assuming the role of the school principal on a temporary basis. Contrary to this, Mr. Haney had a brief cameo at Lakewood in the Season 21 episode "Muffy Misses Out". He was also a guest at the Halloween party in the Arthur and the Haunted Treehouse. He did not speak in either instance.